Mad Thad

3. Ballad Medley: Flamingo / If You Were Mine / I'm Through With Love / Love Walked In 10:01

4. Cat Meets Chick 5:00

5. Bird Song 4:48

6. Jumping For Jane 5:31

7. Mad Thad 4:34

Late 1956 and early 1957 found Thad Jones in the midst of a rewarding flurry of recording activity. His soloing as a member of the Count Basie trumpet section often seemed to consist of endless recreations of his famous "Pop Goes the Weasel" solo on "April in Paris." During time off from Basie, however, Jones poured his energy into composing, arranging, and playing with fires of creativity that led Charles Mingus to call him "the greatest trumpet that I’ve heard in this life." For Mad Thad, Jones recruited a few of his favorite Basie colleagues and a Basie veteran, drummer Jo Jones. For one session, he brought in his brother Elvin on drums and another fellow Detroiter, pianist Tommy Flanagan. Fully justifying Mingus’s enthusiasm, Jones played at the top of his game of melodic and harmonic invention. His compositions included a blues line that quickly became a jazz standard, "Bird Song."